Last Sunday the kids and I decided to skip church to make sure and receive the phone call from my husband. Surprisingly he called early in the morning, leaving us plenty of time to get to church. Knowing I should go, I decided to just get some errands done. The kids and I took off to pay a bill which was about a twenty minute drive from our house. Today I decided to take the long way around, which makes this twenty minute drive about an hour drive. One thing that I absolutely love about Kansas, is that no matter where you drive, you see beautiful landscape.
It was perfect weather out, nice and cool, especially having such hot weather this summer. The windows were rolled down, and we had the music turned up. The kids and I were having a perfect drive. About half way to our destination I realized that I had forgotten my cell phone. I have not gone anywhere without it, since my husband has been gone. So this was strange, and yet, I loved it. There were no worries about missing a phone call, or an email. We had already spoken with my husband so I was not concerned about missing his phone call either.
Once we reached where we were going, I decided how nice it was to just be disconnected from the world in a way. Our drive leads to a trip to the zoo, and ice cream later in the day. Do not get me wrong, we do fun things all the time. But this was different, if I would not have taken that extra drive I would have not laughed as much with my children. If I would have had my phone, I would have been worried about who was trying to contact me, and not sang along with the kids. If I would have had my phone, I would have not driven with all the windows down due to being worried that I was going to miss a call. I know it sounds like I am in desperate need of my phone, but when I live far away from family and friends; it is more like a safety for me.
Oddly enough, I am not a huge fan of the internet, or cell phones. I would easily give it up, if the rest of the world could communicate without them. And yet at the same time, if I was not worried all of the time about having my phone with me, I do not know if that simple drive without it would have meant so much.
Once a week from now on I will leave the phone at home, or least shut it off while the kids and I do something special. We will take another drive to somewhere we have never been. And as long as the weather allows us, we will have the windows down feeling the breeze. I challenge you to do the same. Let yourself look at the landscapes, notice how odd the trees are. Watch your children’s faces, without checking a text or email. Allow yourself to take this time to really realize how beautiful the world is around you. That is the beauty of nature, although we have given in to the powers of technology, nature is still an awesome wonder. So enjoy it.
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